Thursday, February 16, 2012

Soft White Buns

I've been looking a long time for a good bun recipe. Not a kaiser roll with its crispy exterior. And not a dinner roll, or a butter pan roll, or a parker house roll. A plain, white, round bun. The kind of bun that could be used for a sandwich or, perhaps even a hamburger.

With so many recipes to choose from, it took me while to finally settle on one. Most of the recipes out there are for the kind of buns I was not looking for. Then I finally found a recipe that looked like what I wanted, it was the picture that was the deciding factor for me. The buns looked exactly like what I wanted but the only way to know for sure was to try it.

As with most new recipes, I tend to stay true to the original recipe for the first round. Even though the recipe calls for half butter and half shortening (which I rarely use unless making a pie crust), I wanted to taste the buns as they were intended before I decide whether or not they need adjustments. These ones were perfect. They are soft white buns - which makes them ideal for sandwiches as a soft bun is more akin to bread.

The instructions, unfortunately, did not say how many the recipe yielded. So I cut my dough off into 3.5 ounce pieces before rolling into balls, and got 19. My buns came out large enough to be used for a hamburger, which is good to know for next time I need homemade burger buns. I think I'll try them with 3 ounces of dough next time, which would give me closer to 2 dozen buns, and they'd be the perfect size for a smaller sandwich or alongside a bowl of soup. Not that anyone was complaining about the size of these buns, however, they were so good. They were still really good the next day - having just sat out on the counter over night. They were still fresh and soft which means they are perfect if you want to make them a day ahead.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the warm water, 1 tsp. sugar and the yeast. Allow to rest for 10 minutes until "poofed". (If your mixture doesn't poof, either your yeast is old, or the water was too hot and it killed the yeast.)

In a medium sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter and shortening. Add the milk and just warm through. If your mixture exceeds 110 degrees, allow to sit for a few minutes to cool off.

Add the beaten eggs to the stand mixer bowl where the yeast mixture is. Add the warmed milk mixture. Add the salt and 1/3 cup sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the flour, one cup at a time, allowing each cup of flour to become incorporated before adding the next. Allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before proceeding. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, either by hand or with your dough hook (I used the latter) until smooth and elastic adding a tablespoon of flour at a time (if needed) to keep from sticking. (I didn't need any additional flour, my dough was tacky but not sticky).

Let rest for 1 1/2 hours covered. (I actually put the dough in the fridge at this point to run errands. 2 hours later, the dough had doubled in the fridge. I allowed it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding.)

Punch the dough down and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare your sheets by either lining with parchment or spraying with nonstick spray. (Parchment is best.)

Make the dough into buns by cutting off small portions and squeezing between your thumb and your forefinger approximately the size of a small mandarine orange. (If you have a kitchen scale, then weigh each ball to ensure consistent buns. 3 ounces for medium sized buns, 3.5 ounces for hamburger buns.)

Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 to 3 inches between each bun. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your buns. (Mine were large buns 3.5 ounces and were done at 22 minutes.)